Business Digest, March 5, 2013

Share

Related topics

The Securities and Futures Commission has reprimanded Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) and fined it HK$24 million for inadequate internal controls over the distribution of the Manulife Global Fund from 2007 to 2012. The SFC found "serious deficiencies" in the way the fund was distributed. By February last year, the firm had not secured a risk profile for 70 per cent of the fund's customers. Toh Han Shih

Home sales jump 62pc year on year

Sales and purchases of housing units in Hong Kong totalled 6,307 last month, according to the Land Registry, a year-on-year jump of 62.4 per cent and a 16.2 per cent increase over January, for a total value of HK$38.7 billion, 103.3 per cent higher than a year earlier and 35.6 per cent higher than in January. Toh Han Shih

MPF return is 2pc for year's first two months

The total average return on the Mandatory Provident Fund was 2 per cent for January and February combined. The bond average had a two-month negative return of 0.99 per cent, the equity average's two-month total return was 3.37 per cent, and the two-month total return on the mixed-assets average was 1.9 per cent, the MPF said. Toh Han Shih

Rusal in the red on low aluminium prices

Rusal, the world's largest aluminium producer, posted a net loss of US$55 million for last year as the average price for the metal fell to US$2,018 per tonne from US$2,396 in 2011. Prices have since fallen below US$1,950. Shares of Rusal dropped 3.4 per cent to close at HK$4.22 in Hong Kong yesterday. Paul Soh

Du Jun banned for life for insider trading

The Securities and Futures Commission has banned Du Jun, a former managing director of Morgan Stanley Asia, for life from re-entering Hong Kong's financial industry, after criminal proceedings against Du for insider dealing in the shares of Citic Resources. "The SFC concluded that Du is not a fit and proper person to be licensed," it said. In Hong Kong's biggest insider trading case, Du bought HK$87.1 million of Citic Resources shares between February and April 2007. In May 2007, the share price rose sharply, and he took HK$23.3 million in profit. Toh Han Shih